Presentations

How to organize a PowerPoint presentation as a storyteller

Storytelling is one of the oldest and most successful ways of conveying information while presenting data. This old tactic combined with technology gives rise to the best PowerPoint presentations ever. Here we provide insights on the steps of designing effective presentation.

Create a movie script

The flow of a PowerPoint presentation should mimic a movie script. There should be a clear flow from one slide to another. Any inconsistency will lead to ambiguity and the intended information might be underplayed or even distorted.

Each slide should be like a scene of a movie

It should conforms to the previous and the next slides in terms of alignment, colors, font sizes and types and most importantly, the content flow.

Structuring of Business presentations

Ideally, most big consulting firms starting with McKinsey use the Pyramid Principle to make professional PowerPoint presentations. Quoting the author Barbara Minto (a former McKinsey consultant) herself, communicating your ideas concisely and articulately is a key factor in determining your personal business success.

The Pyramid Principle

In a nutshell, the Pyramid principle can be explained with two points –

(a) Start with the conclusion

This refers to setting the stage to provide information on the situation and complication at hand. It ensures everyone has the same understanding of the question. It declares the purpose of the PowerPoint presentation in question.

(b) Back up the conclusion

This refers to lending credibility to the conclusion with the use of data and facts as proof. It outlines the “why”, “how” and “what” elements of the proposed solution for the complication at hand.